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AS YE SEW 



-BY- 



DOROTHY CRICHTON 



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Eldridge Entertainment House 

Franklin, Ohio 2£5 Denver, Colo. 

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TUNEFUL OPENING 
AND CLOSING SONGS 



PRICE 35 CENTS EACH 



I 



TouVe Welcome If You Keep Right 
Still. 

If We Were You and You Were Us. 

We'll Try to Make You Come Again. 

It's Verj Clear Your Welcome Here. 

Hello, Everybody — Glad to See You 
Here. 

With a Tear In One Eye, We Will 
. Tell You Goodbye. 

It's Time to Tell You All Goodbye. 



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WHOLE ENTERTAINMENT 
EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL 

EDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE 

FRANiaiN, OHIO also 944 S. Logan, DENVER, COLO. 



AS YE SEW 



A "Talking Doll" Missionary Play 



BY DOROTHY CRICHTON 



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Copyrisht 1921 . Eldridge Entertainmant Houae, ^ 



rUBUSHED BY 

ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE, 
Franklin, Ohio Denver, Colo. 

DEC 19 192! 



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CHARACTERS AND COSTUMES 



MRS. VAN UPTON— In kimona; hair down. 

MELISSA— The athletic doll; middy su^t. 

GWENDOLYN— Over-dressed. "Fussy*' white silk 
dress, shoes, etc. 

ANNABEL — Neat, plain gingham dress. 

MICHEI^French doll; pretty, fluffy dress. 

TOM— Uniform of U. S. Soldier. 

DORIS — Dress of some soft dark silk 

BABY — Baby's dress and cap. 

MAMMY — The nurse; black face, turban, apron, etc. 

BEULAH — Pui-ple hat, pink dress, as unbecomingly 
made as possible. 

LIZZY — Clothes very carelessly made; waist gapes in 
back, lace ripping from skirts. 

ESTELLE — Dainty, hand-embroidered dress. 



CID 59420 



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TMP92-008972 



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AS YE SEW 



(The dolls that have been dressed for the mission- 
ary box discuss the motives of their makers. They are 
represented by girls, either large or small.) 

Scene — A living room. The dolls that have been 
dressed for the missionary box are scattered about in 
various attitudes. A clock strikes tioelve and they all be- 
gin to stir. 

Melissa — (sitting up) Mercy, folks, do you ever in- 
tend to break this foolish silence tonight? The house 
has been asleep for hours. For goodness sake, Gwendo- 
lyn! If you stare at me much longer, I'll be bound to 
poke those shiny black eyes of yours back in your head 
completely. 

Gtvendolyn — Calm yourself, Melissa. You are al- 
ways so abrupt and masculine — don't you knov/ it is 
scarcely becoming? What's the matter with you, Anna- 
bel? 

Annabel — (groaning) I've got a pain in my saw- 
dust. 

Soldier Tom — (jumping up) Hurrah, folks! now's 
the time for a jolly little chat. I sure do get stiff lying 
so motionless all the time. If those human beings would 
kindly keep out of our way for a while, we might have a 
little fun. 

Melissa — Fun! Around those people? Hardly. 
They don't know hov/ to have fun, even among them- 
selves. Wake the baby, Gwen, and step on Michel, Tom. 

Michel— Ouch ! 



-4s Ye Sew 



Givendolyn — Thomas! Now, see what you have done, 
you careless wretch. My lovely white slippers are all 
soiled, and they are kid, and can never be cleaned, either. 

Tom — Sorry, my dear lady, but kindly keep your 
feet out of my way in the future. Anyhow, they are not 
much account if they iire ruined so easily. How long do 
you expect them to last among those little heathens in 
the mission school where you are going? 

Doris — Oh, don't blame that on Gwendolyn, Thom- 
as. She can't help it, you know. It's only that Mrs. 
Van Upton is just so — 

Melissa — Exactly. You hit it on the head that time. 
That's precisely what Mrs. Van Upton is^ — just so. Of 
all the pride and conceit Can you imagine anyone with 
a smattering of honest-to-goodness brains, rigging up a 
doll like Gwen, there? Just look at her — white silk from 
head to foot. White! — and silk, mind you. 

Given — It'll never wash. 

Baby — Mama ! 

Mammy — Ma li'l' lamb! He say neber yo' min'. 
Miss Gwendolyn, honey, 'cause 'tain't yo' fault if de lady 
dat done dress yo' up for de sassiety am so stuckupety 
she ain't got no jedgment. Jes' look at all dat foolishness 
and flub-dub all gwine to a li'l' bit of a heathen chile 
what's jes' a-hongerin* for a doll baby to love up clost in 
her arms, and den how long's dat white sating dress 
gwine to be white, will you tell me dat, folkses? 

Beulah — ^Yes, but will you all take a look at this 
get-up of mine. Gwen's hasn't a patch on mine, as far 
as inappropriateness is concerned. Will you look as this 
purple velvet bonnet? 

Tom — Isn't it enough to turn a flamingo seasick, 
just to look at it? 

Lizzy — It's a fright, and the worst of it is, Mrs. 
Duke certainly has much better taste„ Catch her wear- 
ing a purple velvet hat with such a looking pink lawn 
dress. It's not that she doesn't know better; it's just 
that she is so frightfully stingy. 



As Ye Sew 



Michel — I didn't know she was such a miser. 

Beulah — Well, she is. She ripped a collar off an old 
coat to make this creation on top of my curls, and the 
dress is made out of a scrap of lawn that she dug up out 
of her rag bag, because she said she did hate to buy new 
goods for just those little heathens, who wouldn't know 
any better, anyway. 

Estelle — I should think she would hate to have even 
those same little heathen judge her by that outfit. Gra- 
cious ! Wouldn't it be awful if they would believe all the 
American people dressed like that? 

Doris — But, my dear, you can scarcely criticize Mrs. 
Duke for economizing in these hard times, can you? 
Why, this very dress I have on is made of a bit of little 
Mrs. Kane's wedding dress. She hated mightily to cut 
into it, too, but she couldn't afford to buy anything else, 
and she did want me to be prettily dressed for "those 
dear little dark sisters," as she called them. 

Baby — Mama ! 

Mammy — Bress his li'l' heart! He say dey's sho' 
some difference 'tween economizin' for the good of some- 
budy else, and economizin' for to keep yo' own pocket- 
book full up of seventeen centses for de pitcher shows. 

Doris — She loved that little dress of her's too. It 
was the one pretty thing she ever had that was just hers. 
She's had a hard life, has Mrs. Kane, The Kane family 
is hardly a success, j^ou know. 

Estelle — And yet, that is a very pretty frock you 
have on, Doris, and it is so carefully made, too. 

To7n — I wonder if her little brown sisters can't see 
the love and the sacrifice in that little dress. I can. 

Mammy — Look at this honey-bird's liT closes, and 
you'll see some mo' lub an' sackerficin'. Ain't dat sweet 
li'l' dress an* bunnit an' li'l' unercloses jes* lak human 
baby's — jes* lak own li'l' baby? 

Lizzy — Why, Mammy, I didn't know Mrs. Sexton 
had a baby. I thought — 



As Ye Sew 



Mamm.y — She ain't got none, now, honey chile. Hit's 
a li'P angel baby, now, a li'P angel baby. (Sings. 
"Mighty lak' a Rose.") 

Melissa — Oh, how could she? How could she dress 
a baby doll, then? Oh, she's fine, she's splendid, but how 
could she? 

Doris — She could, dear, because when she put it 
down among the others I saw her, and I heard her whis- 
per, **Love your little play baby, little brown girl. I 
loved to make it for you, as I'd hoped to make such wee 
clothes for my own baby's dollies." 

Estelle — What I can't figure out is, how could any- 
one have the nerve to place beside that lovely baby doll, a 
fright like Lizzy, there. Now, Lizzy, don't get offended, 
you know yourself it's awful. Of course, you look well 
enough, but — ■ 

Mammy — Honey, you's jes' nachelly a-gittin' di- 
vo'ced from yo' closes. I'se skeered dat you'll be sca'sely 
kivered by de time dat li'l' heathen gal gits yo'all. Dem 
clo's ain't no finished masterpiece, by no means ; dey's 
jes' a sort~a sketch. 

To?}i — You are losing part of the lace off your dress 
right novv^. 

Michel — Betty Ames made that, and she said it was 
good enough for the heathens, and she didn't care, any- 
how. 

Lizzy — ^Yes, and I saw John Maynard looking at her 
pretty seriously v/hen he heard her say that; and he 
came over to the table and picked me up and examined 
my dress. 

Melissa — Yes, and he left without saying more to 
Betty, and he looked pretty grim around the m.outh. 

Tomi — She might as well say: ''Goodbye, Johnny." 

Estelle — At that, he's wise, isn't he? 

Beulah — Never mind, Lizzy. Thomas, but you cer- 
tainly take my eye in that uniform. What fair society 
member is responsible for that masterpiece, anyway? 



As Ye Sew 



Tom — Mrs. Jenkins. 

Estelle — How could she, when her own only boy died 
in that hospital in France? Why, I should think she 
could hardly bear to. It seems almost a sacrilege to dress 
a doll so. 

Michel — I heard Mrs. Van Upton say something like 
that to her yesterday, and what do you think she 
answered ? 

Tom — I heard her. She said: ''Why, my dear lady, 
I'm proud of the uniform my son wore, so proud of it I 
feel that I want to honor his loyal love far it by letting 
even those little far-away heathen girls see it and learn 
to recognize it, and to love it. 

(Clock strikes one.) 

Melissa — There! One o'clock, already! How time 
does fly when we get together for a talk. It is so tire- 
some lying on the table, or sitting stiffly against the 
wall, with our legs straight out in front of us, and star- 
ing so unblinkingly into space. Estelle, are you mussing 
that frock? It's such a beauty, all hand embroidered 
that way, that it would be a shame to spoil it. 

Estelle — It washes. With all her painstaking work 
on it, Mrs. Thorne had the good sense to make it out of 
washable material. 

Gwen — Poor little mother soul. She loves to dress a 
doll for other folks' children. She always wanted one of 
her own. 

Baby — Mama ! 

Mammy — Li'l' lamb. He say lak dat dar ii'l' bit of 
flub-dub po'try Mrs. Van Upton am always a-quotin' 
from a fellow what she cognomens Burns, ef we alls 
could jes' see our own selfs jes' lak other folkses sees us, 
but, law sakes — 

Doris — As is the gift, so is the giver. 

Michel — Somebody's coming. Quick! Into your 
nlaces. 



8 



As Ye Sew 



(Enter Mrs. Van Upton,) 

Mrs, Van Upton— Who's there? Who's there? I 
say, who's there? {Pauses to listen,) That's funny. I 
was sure I heard something. Oh, well I guess it was 
nothing. Or, maybe it was a mouse. Mercy! and I 
haven't any shoes on. WHOO-EE ! 




Plays for Amateurs 

BY SEYMOUR S. TIBBALS 



Mr. Tibbals has won a wide reputation as 
the writer oi' plays for amateurs that have 
dramatic action, bright dialog and clean 
and wholesome plots. Among the most 
successful of these are 

Somewhere In France; 4 m. 3 f 35c 

Sergeant Jim of the 

U.S. Marines; 7 m. 12 f. 35c 

The Little Politician; 7 m. 3 f ...35c 

Getting Even With Reggie; 5 m. 8 f . 35c 

At The Village Postoffice; S^icter. • 35c 

The MamHaters; 11 f.4m.... 35c 

Vinegar's Vaudeville Agency; wmnber 35c 

The Millionaire Janitor; play for boys 35c 

In Dixie Land; male characters 35c 

Up Caesar's Creek; boys* play 35c 

Christmas Plays 

Christmas at Finnegan's Flat .....25c 

Christmas at Golden Gulch 25c 

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Sedne from the Comic Opera, "The Captain of Plymouth" 

THE CAPTAIN OF PLYMOUTH 

This is a splendid number for any time, and especially good 
ii for High School, Choral Societies, etc. Price complete $1.25. 

Right of presentation given with purchase of 15 copies. Rental 
of orchestration $7.00. 



THE HERMIT OF HAWAH 

is iust the thing for your school society or High School chorus. 
It is written by the popular composer, Arthur Penn, and is 
especially tuneful and clever. Price $1.25. "Right of presen- 
tation given with purchase of 1 5 copies. Rental of orches- 
tration $7.00. 



OPERETTAS FOR CHILDREN 

Midsummer Eve - - - - - 60 cents 

In Little Folks Town ----- 60 cents 

Under The Sugar Plum Tree - - 60 cents 

Arcticania $1.00 



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